Nexans : Paving the way to safer Europe with Construction Products Regulation

By Benjamin Fitoussi, Nexans COO and Chair of the Europacable Industry Team

Since its foundation in 1991, Europacable, the European trade association for wire and cable producers, has been a spearhead of the cabling industry on - and beyond - the old continent. Through their engagement in standardisation processes, its members have been consistently pushing the industry towards designing and producing cables that are more efficient, more reliable and most importantly safer.

As an active member of the association, for over 25 years Nexans has been contributing to this evolution. Today, as Europacable launches a Construction Products Regulation awareness campaign, we are proud to be part of this endeavour that is of utmost importance not only to cable manufacturers but to all European citizens.

Why Construction Products Regulation is a big deal

With 8,000 peopled killed by fire in Europe every year, fire safety is a major topic for the European community. To minimize risks associated with fires, all European actors must align their standards for products used in construction. Needless to say that this also applies to cables, as they play a key role in the event of a fire by limiting the spread of flames and smoke release, and also by ensuring the functioning of critical safety equipment, such as sprinklers, fire alarms or exit signs.

So, how to ensure that all cables are up to the same standard? The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) recently introduced by the European Union is a major milestone in this field. By providing a common technical language for all stakeholders in the construction industry to use, the CPR will increase market transparency and encourage fair competition across the EU, improving the safety of citizens and guaranteeing seamless functioning of businesses in Europe. When it comes to fire safety in particular, the CPR has introduced a universal grading system for cables, so that everyone involved in their creation, purchase and installation can be sure that they are using a cable that is up to standard.

Why we need to be speaking about the CPR

Ensuring the same level of safety for every citizen in every country is only possible with regulations like the CPR. Yet while the introduction of the CPR is in itself a major step for the whole construction industry in Europe, unfortunately, the regulation and its benefits are still not entirely understood by all concerned stakeholders. Which is why we still need to focus our efforts in promoting and explaining the CPR.

For many decades Nexans has been committed to improving fire safety across all countries in which we operate pushing the limits of our products and investing in the development of our cutting-edge fire testing laboratories. Today, we are honoured to highlight this commitment by promoting Europacable's CPR awareness campaign aimed at regulators, specifiers, wholesalers and installers. Our common goal is to reinforce the understanding of the CPR as an important health and safety initiative, rather than just another sophisticated regulation for companies to comply with.

To know more about the CPR, visit Europacable's dedicated web resource and share it with your network: cpr.europacable.eu